Tuesday, July 19, 2011

I saw the inside of my bladder this morning. I realize that's an odd thing to admit, but it's true. A urologist pushed a camera up into it and I saw the various components. As I watched it on a screen it was difficult to believe that the images on it were being taken right then and there from inside one of my major organs. He pointed out where the left kidney and right kidney empty into the bladder. There were lots of blood vessels. The most important thing is that everything looked good.

I won't go into a ton of detail on why I needed to have this procedure other than to say that the doctor I went to today was wonderful. Many of us have issues or problems with health care providers and I generally go into the office of someone "new" with a sense of caution. My local primary doc called this urologist to explain some things to him - things he needed to know - and he was totally wonderful and comfortable. I've been refused care before and know many others who end up leaving the office after bad experiences. This was a good experience.

Needless to say, I'm a little bit "ginger" this afternoon. But I'm a bit relieved that everything checked out ok. I suppose it's all part of routine maintenance while getting older.

I think I'm getting "hooked" on my bike. I went for another ride last night to watch the sunset at one of the local picturesque piers. It was wonderful. I really, really enjoy riding it and sometimes feel like a kid who can't wait to get home to play with a new toy. The more I do it the more my legs get better at it and the more I want to do it. I envision a long road-trip at some point in the not too distant future. Of course, when I say "long" I mean a trip to one of the nearby: Beaufort is about 70 miles from here, Mclellanville is 40 miles, other destinations are similarly distances. I'm certainly not about to become a triathelete or anything but I'm enjoying this more than I enjoy running....

News came out today of an ACLU lawsuit against the state of Alaska on behalf of a trans-woman for denying her a gender marker change on her driver's license (read it here). While recently I expressed my opinions regarding the ACLU suit against the state of Illinois for refusing to change birth certificates without medical interventions, I fully support this move and believe it to be the kind of thing that is a far more productive use of money and energies.

I am confident that the ACLU will eventually win this case and I hope it provides some sort of precedent that can be used in other states with similarly prohibitive policies. As I said at the time, I fully support changing identity documents such as driver's licenses and passports with appropriate documentation that should NOT require surgical proof.

When I changed my documentation in Arizona it took a letter from my doctor and from my therapist indicating that I was being treated for GID and that the changes I had undergone were "permanent and irreversible". That was the key phrase. And, thankfully, things went smoothly. I hope things go similarly smoothly with this lawsuit....

Peter Frampton is playing tonight in Myrtle Beach (about 90 miles from here) to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Frampton Comes Alive. I'd love to go see him but given a number of circumstances I can't make it. My fall-back plan: Tuesdays are half-price-burger night at my favorite local pub. I even have it in my weekly calendar to remind me in case I forget. Although I'm feeling a bit tender at the moment I'm going to treat myself. It's another of those simple pleasures, and a wonderful way to celebrate "Tuesday"....

3 comments:

Donna While I've never seen the inside of my bladder I have seen my MRI scans and they were fascinating. I to have recently started biking myself and wow was it a surprise it's a lot more work then I remember, glad I have a car.

As for the Alaska Suit I completely disagree A drivers License isn't meant to Identify ones "Gender Identity" it's meant to Identify ones "Gender". I think this suit will end in a loss just like the one in NY did.

@Brandi: The biking thing is way cool. The more I do it the more my legs get used to it and the more I want to do it. We've been scoping out various 35-40 mile routes through one of the nearby National Forests for the next adventure.

I know you and I don't agree on the driver's license thing and that's ok. As I mentioned in my original opinion I consider birth certificates to be unique, but fully support efforts to have other forms of personal identification changed without any surgery whatsoever - ever - for those who are transitioning. I'm confident that the plaintiff will win this case, and I'll go a step further and say that I hope to see more of them in the future.